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The first official call for the decriminalization of psychedelic plants and fungi in Canada is set to be heard in the House of Commons later this year.

An electronic petition initiated by psychedelic practitioner Trevor Millar on April 16 has gotten the public support and political backing required to be heard in the House of Commons after it closes from further signatures on Aug. 14.

Petition e-2534 will be presented to the House by MP Paul Manly, who won a seat for the Green Party in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith by-election last May and was re-elected in October.

Sacramental and medicinal plants have been used for millennia by Indigenous cultures for healing, Manly told Mugglehead in a written statement.

“Criminalizing Indigenous people’s use of traditional medicines with psychoactive ingredients was part of the cultural genocide that took place during colonization,” he said.

Manly also mentioned the urgent need to address the opioid and mental health crises facing Canadians. Sacramental and medicinal plants containing psychoactive agents is a promising area of research for potential treatments, he said.

Manly cited a rapidly growing body of research showing that psychedelics can be safely used to treat people suffering from addictions, common mental health issues and end of life care.

For instance, psilocybin — the main psychoactive ingredient found in popular varieties of magic mushrooms — has been popping up in recent years as an effective therapy for treatment-resistant depression.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has acknowledged the potential for these treatments, designating some with “breakthrough therapy” status to expedite their development.

Highlighting that some psychedelics are already on their way to liberalization, Manly pointed to other North American jurisdictions that have decriminalized. Denver, Colorado, became the first U.S. city to decriminalize magic mushrooms following a narrow vote last May. In Oregon, acccording to the Yes on IP 34 website, the group has 130,691 out of a required 145,000 signatures required for the legalization of psilocybin therapy to appear on the federal ballot in November’s election.Psilocybe_cubensis-indoorPsilocybe cubensis are one of the most popular variety of magic mushroom and can be grown indoors with relative ease. Creative commons photo by Ilkka S. Itäheima‘Audacious’ goal of 500,000 signatures, if met, will send a clear message to government

Much of Millar’s therapeutic work has centred on ibogaine, a psychoactive substance derived from the root bark of a shrub native to West Africa.

Ibogaine has been shown to be an effective treatment for substance use disorders, but some doctors have said it’s too toxic to be adopted as a mainstream medical treatment. The substance has a prescription-only status in Canada and is listed as a Schedule I drug in the U.S.

While Millar has his name stamped on the petition as its initiator, he says he wasn’t actually brought on board until late in the process.

Last year, Vancouver city Coun. Melissa DeGenova called for a crackdown on illegal drugs, naming mushrooms along with concerns of money-laundering and international drug gangs. DeGenova’s concerns came after well-known weed activist Dana Larsen started selling mushroom microdoses online.

Millar was part of the group that set up decriminalizenature.ca, which allowed people at the time to send a pre-formatted letter to city council against DeGenova’s motion. Around 750 people sent one of those letters in, Millar said, which contributed to the motion being shot down in a six-to-two vote.

It was through his involvement there, that he was brought on to work on the current petition, which had been in the works by Chris Bennett from The Urban Shaman in Vancouver and some of his friends.

“They had already established the relationship with Paul Manly and they kind of brought me in at the 11th hour to quarterback it going public and to help with some final edits,” Millar said.

The small team got the petition to a point where they and Manly were happy with it, and then Millar worked on getting some big names to sponsor it.

I noticed more than 10 mail order psilocybin places have popped up on the internet (in Canada) . It's like the new mail order marijuana...

I keep getting facebook ads for mail order shrooms.

Plants are all easy to grow yourself or source, this should be all psychedelics including chemicals. I guess we couldn't play the native card for that. In my city calgary meth and opiods are already defacto decrim, the police hold the door to the shooting gallery open for users. It seems unfair that getting caught with ketamine equals I get charged while hard drug users get babied under harm reduction policies.

--------------------"This life is a hospital in which every patient is possessed by the desire of changing his bed. One would prefer to suffer near the fire, and another is certain he would get well if he were by the window." - Charles Baudelaire